With a big-budget Joker movie on the horizon and a new Penguin HBO series just launched, other DC villains are now getting their moment in the spotlight.
 |
| Bane and Deathstroke Warner Bros.; Tony Daniel/DC Entertainment |
According to sources from Reporter, Bane—the super-steroid villain last seen in Christopher Nolan's 2012 The Dark Knight Rises—and Deathstroke, another fan-favorite antagonist, are being lined up for a joint movie.
James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios is developing the project with a script by Matthew Orton, who also worked on the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World. However, no director is currently attached.
Bane, introduced to Batman’s rogues gallery in the 1990s by writer Chuck Dixon and artist Graham Nolan, grew up in a prison on a fictional Caribbean island. There, he honed his fighting skills and learned from various international criminals. After being subjected to a steroidal experiment, Bane became immensely strong but also addicted to the serums.
His defining moment came in the Knightfall storyline, where he famously broke Batman's back, solidifying his place among Gotham’s most notorious villains. Bane has appeared in video games, TV shows, and was memorably portrayed by Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises.
Deathstroke, created in 1980 by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez, was originally introduced as a villain for the Teen Titans. Over time, the super-enhanced assassin rose in popularity, facing off against Batman, the Justice League, and leading his own comic series.
The character has appeared in various media, with Esai Morales playing him in the live-action Titans series, and Joe Manganiello making a cameo in Zack Snyder's DC films. At one point, Deathstroke was set to be the villain in Ben Affleck's The Batman and was even linked to a solo film directed by The Raid's Gareth Evans.
DC and Warner Bros. have found success in highlighting villains, most notably with Joker. Todd Phillips’ take on the character led the film to gross $1 billion and win Oscars for Joaquin Phoenix and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir. The sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is set to open on October 4.
Colin Farrell stars as The Penguin in a spinoff series from Matt Reeves’ 2022 The Batman, which debuted on HBO on September 19 to strong reviews. Margot Robbie’s portrayal of antihero Harley Quinn across three films, including James Gunn's The Suicide Squad (2021), has also been a hit with audiences.
Despite these successes, crafting villains that are compelling enough to lead a feature film remains a challenge. The first crucial step is strong writing.
Matthew Orton, known for his grounded, gritty work involving criminals and killers, is a fitting choice for this project. His résumé includes Operation Finale, the true-life story of the mission to capture Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann, which starred Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley. He also created Devil’s Peak, a crime miniseries for South Africa's DSTV, and has the upcoming thriller Cleaner, starring Clive Owen and Daisy Ridley.
Orton earned a credit on Marvel's Moon Knight and was later brought back to work on Captain America: Brave New World, which explores themes of terrorism. That film is slated for release on February 14, 2025.
Orton is represented by WME, Grandview, and Johnson Shapiro.
